Apart
by phantom12
Summary: A fic concerning two close friends on the eve of one's departure. Jason/Kim Friendship, References to TK.


**Disclaimer**: I don't own anything but the pants I'm wearing right now.  
**Author's Note**: For some reason, I am enjoying Jason/Kimberly friendships lately. So here's one dedicated to psycochick32, who mentioned in a review for another story of mine that she had been looking for more Jason/Kimberly brotherly-sisterly fics. References to TK. As always, feel free to review, praise, flame, criticize, or don't. Whatever you want is cool with me.  
**Author's Secondary Note**: This short fic takes place during MMPR just before Jason leaves for the Peace Pooper. Yes, I will continue to call it the Peace Pooper even though I wholeheartedly love the additional characters of Aisha, Rocky, & Adam. This story has nothing to do with any of the other stories I've written.

**Apart**

Jason stuffed a t-shirt and mismatching socks into his small overflowing duffel bag. He'd finished packing a suitcase, but was now working on a carry-on bag. The flight to Switzerland tomorrow morning was a good ten hours according to his itinerary. Luckily he'd have Trini and Zack to keep him company, but still. _Ten hours_. He looked around for something that might occupy his time on the plane ride. And he saw it. On his bookshelf. A tiny toy in the form of a Matchbox racecar. Red with checkered racing stripes. He smiled at his favorite childhood toy fondly. He would certainly find great joy in annoying Trini with 'vroom-vroom' noises for ten hours. He stuffed the car into the pocket of his jeans and looked around for something else to pack.

He grumbled as he tripped over something at the foot of his bed. He turned to find the culprit: a pink stuffed animal in the form of a beat-up whale. Kimberly's. She'd left it there six years ago to keep it 'safe' from the terrors of her broken home. Jack the Pink Whale was her excuse to visit his house nearly every day that summer. He sighed and picked it up as he sat on the edge of his bed, thinking hard.

Kim had opted not to attend the small farewell gathering at Ernie's juice bar. She was avoiding him. Upon pestering her boyfriend on her whereabouts, Tommy had shrugged dejectedly saying she'd wanted to be alone. Jason was rather disappointed that she hadn't come by, but he was confident that she would see him when she was ready to say goodbye. They needed a private moment alone to do so, but he was a little worried they would run out of time.

The ring of his phone startled him. He made a quick glance at the caller ID before he picked up.

"Hey, Kim," Jason greeted with a relieved smile.

"_Jason_," came a voice that surprisingly did _not_ belong to his childhood friend.

"Ms. Hart?" Jason asked, panic starting to set in. Caroline Hart never made it a habit to call his house after her divorce. Kim's mother and his own had unfortunately drifted apart after the separation of Kim's parents. "What's wrong?"

"_Kim's missing._"

Jason sighed. He should have expected this. Kim did not always take to change very well.

"_Could you…?_" Ms. Hart's voice trailed off.

"I'll find her," Jason said in a reassuring voice. He bid her goodbye with another promise and hung up the phone. He galloped down the stairs and was almost out the door until he heard his mother's voice.

"Jason?" his mother called him. "Where are you going? We're supposed to have dinner together as a family on your last night."

"I know, Mom," Jason apologized uncomfortably. "I… Kim's mom called."

"Ah," she replied understandingly. "Shall I set another plate for Kim then?"

"Yes, please. We'll be back soon." He flashed her a quick smile and shut the door behind him, making his way over to the park.

There was a reason that Jason's mother had been so understanding about this small outing on his last night before leaving for Switzerland. And why Kim's mother had called him instead of Tommy to retrieve her. The memory of an incident six years ago popped into his mind.

---

_It was a late afternoon when Jason and his father had hopped out of the family van and raced to the front door laughing gleefully. "I win!" Jason declared triumphantly as he looked up into his father's panting, yet smiling, face. _

_He pushed open his front door and his smile disappeared when he saw the serious look on his mother's face. She was on the phone speaking in a hushed tone. At the sight of Jason, he heard her say, "I'll ask him." Jason's face screwed up in confusion and worry._

"_Jason, sweetie, have you seen Kim?" Helen Marie Scott asked her ten-year-old son as she cradled the phone in the crook of her neck._

"_No," Jason had replied as he threw his backpack into a corner. "She didn't come to Karate today. Why?"_

"_She's missing."_

_She's missing. Those two words seemed to haunt him that night. Despite his pleas to stay up until news came of her whereabouts, they had sent him to bed. Defiantly, he had somehow found the courage to disobey his parents and snuck out of his bedroom window to find her. _

_He wasn't quite sure how he had found her at the very first place he looked. He had been drawn to the small park located about a quarter mile from his house. He followed whatever was inside him that led him to her. _

_She was lying on the flat roof of the playground gazebo. He wasn't surprised that no one else had noticed her there. He wouldn't have seen her himself if he didn't feel the connection between the two of them. He climbed up to find an unsurprised nine-year-old Kimberly, lying flat on her back on top of the small structure staring at the stars. She seemed to be waiting for him. Without a word, he lay down next to her and mimicked her position._

_The two children lay in silence for a short while._

"_My Daddy left today," she said suddenly in a small voice._

_Jason shrugged. "Good. I don't like him anyway."_

"_Me neither," Kim replied sadly. "But he's still my Dad. He's the only man I've got… or had."_

"_You've got me," Jason said too seriously for a ten-year-old._

_She turned and smiled at the boy she had come to love as a brother. They talked that night. For how long, Jason was never sure. But after they hashed out their thoughts, he had brought her back to his house. His mother, though quite angry at his unexcused departure in the middle of the night, had been more than understanding._

---

Six years later Jason found himself in the same position. Kimberly had pulled several more disappearing acts after that, but less frequently as the years went on. And each time he found her at 'their' spot, they'd talk it out, and then eventually they would return. The last time she'd run off she was fourteen. Until now, a good two years later, she hadn't done it since.

The sun was beginning to set as he made it to the edge of the park. Jason sighed at the memory of his ten-year-old self making this same small journey to the park six years ago. He stopped at their gazebo and looked up. He saw a small pink jacket sticking out over the edge. He smiled wryly to himself and climbed up and lay down next to her. He was suddenly aware at how much he'd grown since his feet were hanging off the edge of the flat roof.

As before, Kimberly showed no signs of surprise at his sudden appearance, but lay there comfortably staring up at the purple sky.

"You're leaving me," she said so softly, reminding him of the nine-year-old brunette he'd found six years ago.

"I'd never _really_ leave you," he replied. "You'll always have me. I'll only be a phone call or an email away."

She didn't respond. He turned his head to look at her and found her doe brown eyes glistening and still staring at the sky above them.

"I'm not like your dad," he promised her. "_I'm_ coming back."

"What will I do in the mean time?" she asked, her head snapping towards him and their eyes meeting. "What will I do without you?"

He smiled softly at her. "You'll do what you always do. Do what you love. You'll go to school, you'll go to gymnastics, you'll practice your martial arts, and you'll kick some evil Zedd ass in your free time."

The tears were now falling freely from her eyes. "But it won't be the same."

"You're right, it won't," Jason agreed. He took her hand in his. "Listen, I wouldn't go if I didn't think you were ready to be on your own. You can do this."

Kim shook her head violently and sobbed as she squeezed his hand.

"Yes," Jason said before she could argue against him. "Look at you. You've grown up so much in the past six years. You've put up with a lot of change, some good and some bad. And you've found so much happiness in your life that it's contagious. You make everyone smile wherever you go. I'm so proud to be your friend. I'm glad I got to watch you grow into the young woman you are today."

"I just – I still don't want things to change." She cried harder and he pulled her into his arms.

"No matter what, things will always change. This time, it may not seem like a good thing at first. But look at what we get out of it. We have three new members in our family."

Kim sniffled into Jason's shirt. "Yeah… I _do_ like Aisha's fashion sense."

Jason laughed and brushed a strand from her face.

"But it's always been _you_ who has been there," she continued. "I can't think of any major life crisis I've had where I didn't have you by my side. When my parents were fighting or cheating on each other, or when my dad left, the stupid divorce, or even the ups and downs of being a Ranger… Every time I have laughed or cried, you have always been there. I don't know what I'll do if something good or bad happens and I won't be able to share it with you."

"You _can_ still share it with me. I'm not going to be that far away; after all, we've traveled farther apart on missions. All you have to do is call or email. If it's an emergency, you can always use your communicator. I'll drop whatever I'm doing and I will come back to you."

Kim sighed and looked up at her surrogate brother. "I know I'm being selfish, but… well, even though I know we'll get to talk all the time, I've never gone more than a week without being with you. I won't be able to _see_ you every day!"

"You'll still have Tommy and Billy. They'll be here with you every day, along with the new Rangers. You've known Billy as long as you've known me, and he'll always be there if you ask him. And I wouldn't feel more comfortable leaving you in the hands of anyone else besides Tommy."

Kim smiled, wiping the tears from her eyes at the thought of her boyfriend. "I'm glad you approve of him."

"I know you love him," Jason said. "You should consider opening up to him about this stuff too. He came from a broken family too, you know… before he was adopted, I mean. He'll understand where you're coming from."

"Yeah, I know," Kim replied.

"You're a lot stronger than you think, Kimmy," Jason said, tilting her chin up at him. "You and I – we're going to grow from this. I want you to think of it as an adventure. We will always need each other, and nothing will change that. Maybe a couple years ago you wouldn't have been able to handle me leaving, but _now_ you can. You're more independent now; you fight back against the cruelties this world has thrown at you. Hell, you've pulled some moves that have made Rita _and_ Zedd quiver. You're braver than you think you are."

He saw her face blush with pride, new tears spilling.

Jason smiled and continued. "You have grown up as much as you can with me around. But you won't grow any more if I stay, and neither will I. I can't be your crutch for the rest of your life. You have to start letting other people in. Like Tommy. And when we're done with this upcoming chapter of our lives, we'll be back together. I'll make sure of that."

Kim sighed and nodded, finally submitting to the inevitable. Jason was really leaving her. She gave a great sigh, knowing he was right. They were both ready for this. "I'll be okay," she sniffled.

"I know you will," Jason smiled at her, his own eyes stinging with tears at the sight of his best friend's bravery. As much as it hurt to leave her, he knew it was his time to go. They both needed this. "What about Jack?" Jason asked, referring to the pink whale that lay on the floor of his bedroom. "Think he'll be fine?"

Kim laughed and wiped her eyes. "You keep him," she said. "He'll be fine as long as he's with you."

"Really?" Jason raised an eyebrow. "I'm not sure how cool I'll look at the conference in front of all the foreign ladies when I pull beat-up a pink whale out of my luggage. But okay."

He smiled as she laughed infectiously. "You keep him so you'll always have a piece of me wherever you go," she said seriously.

He considered her kind gesture for a moment. "Here," Jason said as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out his red Matchbox racecar. He placed it into her hands.

"Your car?" Kim asked incredulously. "You never let me touch this when we were kids!"

Jason shrugged. "So you'll always have a piece of me too."

"Thanks," she said as she wrapped her fingers around the car possessively. He pulled her into a hug and they lay there for a while, watching the sky grow dimmer and enjoying each other's presence.

A soft grumble from Kimberly's stomach interrupted their peace.

"Come on," Jason laughed. "My mom's making steak and potatoes tonight."

"Mmm," Kim giggled. "Sounds good!"

They climbed down the gazebo as the sun disappeared below the horizon, and walked back to Jason's house, arms hooked together.

Tonight, they would have dinner with Jason's family, and have some ice cream for dessert. They would smile and laugh for the rest of the evening ahead of them. He would tease her relentlessly over her diminutive stature. She would instigate a pillow war. They would eventually invite the rest of their friends, old and new, over to join them in a final goodbye. And tomorrow, two childhood best friends would begin the first day of their new adventures – _apart_.

---

-Fin-


End file.
